Town Square

Haggerty disappoints Pleasanton leaders in 'State of County' remarks

Alameda County Supervisor delivered what was billed as a "State of the County" address Tuesday, but it was more like a chat about current issues before an audience of 75 Tri-Valley business representatives.

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Posted by Boner
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 25, 2011 at 5:02 pm

I saw it asked here the other day but saw no answer, what is a County Supervisor for? do we need one? can it be afforded? and don't we have assembly people who are supposed to be representing us? I also do not know what we have a BAAQMD, Bay Area Air Quality Management Department, when we have the US EPA and CAL EPA? Are these just made up positions to just justify someones elected position?

Posted by Arnold
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 25, 2011 at 5:22 pm

"The county, he said (Haggerty), has many of the same financial problems as the state and cities. Faced with a $135-million shortfall in its proposed $2.4 billion budget for fiscal 2011-12, it doesn't expect any help from the state which faces it own $16-billlion budget deficit.

The county has reserves totaling more than $2 million"

Uh-oh! If these numbers are correct we are in serious trouble. "Faced with a $135-million shortfall in its proposed $2.4 billion budget...reserves totaling more than $2 million." How can reserves be characterized as "more than 2 million." Shouldn't they being saying in a 2.4 billion dollar budget, with a 135 million dollar shortfall, we don't have a nickel in our pocket? I hope the 2 million is reserves is a typo!

Speaking of BART, I guess they want a billion dollar parcel tax on the ballot.

The supervisors sit around at meetings and try to make everyone happy by keeping a smile on their face. They get paid way too much in unsustainable salaries and benefits and they collect a annual pension rate over 1/2 million which is unaccountable and leaves us holding the bag. Once in a while they try to pass a socialist program like BART or library improvement. The tax burden they impose on us is monumental and I feel like I'm being crushed by a big wave.

Posted by Tax Dollars At Work
a resident of Dublin
on May 25, 2011 at 7:52 pm

BART directors are also in the early stages of discussion on a possible parcel tax to help pay for a new fleet of train cars.

BART is considering spending $3.4 billion for as many as 1,000 new transit cars. The new fleet would be phased in between 2016 and 2024.

BART Board President Bob Franklin said the agency currently only has a funding commitment of $850 million from the federal government. To get that money, BART needs to come up with $150 million in local funding.

He said the average age of BART's current 669 cars is 30 years old (weren't they just refurbished?). Right now, 15 percent of BART delays are due to mechanical problems on the trains. As the fleet ages even more, that percentage will increase. (note: a friend of mine that is a BART maintenance supervisor disputes this number saying that the 15% includes issues not related to the trains).

BART officials say the extra cars are needed because of an expected rise in weekday ridership from 350,000 to 500,000 by 2035. (I hate these kind of projections).

Franklin said the district needs to "try everything it can" to raise the money for the new cars.

"BART's reliability is at stake," he said.

He said the parcel tax would probably be close to $1 billion. The earliest it would appear on the ballot would be the November 2012 general election.

Franklin said BART directors would probably have to decide by December to place the item on that particular ballot in order to mount a successful campaign (how much will that campaign cost?).

BART's last funding request was a $980 million bond measure approved by voters in 2004 for seismic upgrades.

Critics have said BART should cut costs before asking voters for more money. They also have questioned the average cost of $3.4 million for each new train car. (I question the cost of having two Pleasanton/Dublin Bart stations. Convienient? yes? Practical? Doubtful. Cost effective? No way.)

Franklin said the high price tag is due to the complexity of BART cars. There are a number of electrical components as well as specifications to have the cars fit the BART system (????).

He said the district also wants cars with better seats and more doors, so passengers can get in and out more easily (???).

He said much of the cost is tied up in designing a car from the ground up (why not just use the same type of car so it doesn't have to be redesigned from the ground up - and how many millions will it cost to repaint all the BART platforms yellow strips that denote a door entrance?).

"This is a sophisticated car," Franklin said.

What is wrong with the current non-sophisticated car that is overly subsidized and under utilized?

Just another socialist boondoggle. Whatever happened to the Harvey Reid supertrain from Las Vegas to Disneyland? Whatever happened to the T-Totally unrealistic supertrain from SF to LA? We don't get them because the people don't want to suffer more value-added tax hikes and exhaustion that comes with it. Its all socialistic pie in the sky. I like the one about the two Dublin/Pleasanton stations. As if the pikers who are too cheap to drive their own cars or too lazy to work for one can't be made to walk a little bit? And so we're left with unfunded liabilities to the tune of who knows how much? It's all unsustainable. But that's the socialistic plot. To shower us with irresponsible debt and then here come more Chinese to our shores like a big wave. They're going to own us.

Posted by Boner
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 25, 2011 at 8:28 pm

TDAW and Laurie,

30 years old is not that old if they have been maintained and 3.4 million per car is beyond belief. Where are we buying the cars from? The government doesn't take care of or maintain anything but I bet we are paying a ton for maintenance people and maintenance each year?

Posted by Aghast by tax
a resident of Dublin
on May 25, 2011 at 9:59 pm

Boner, I've got a cousin who has a friend who's in the know over there in BART and he says the cars are coming from Toronto. Have you ever seen the lots full of public busses off the embarcadero? Over half of them look like they've been sitting there for decades. And you're right there's probably teams of high-paid maintenance guys members of entitlement groups just sitting around waiting for their pensions to kick in.

Posted by Told you so
a resident of Mohr Park
on May 26, 2011 at 8:46 am

Duh!! Why buy the cow (widening 84) when you can have the milk (extension of Stoneridge Drive) for free!! Hate to say "I told you so", Jennifer. Haggerty was never going to widen 84, but you bought it. Now we'll have the pleasure of increased cut through traffic, congestion and the crime that comes along with it. Thanks a bunch.

Haggerty is the worst kind of politician. I'd like to say what he's like but I'm sure the post would be deleted. His true colors show just by him sending the questions he wanted to be asked ahead of time. That way he can study up on them and not be put on the spot. Don't want to be asked any real hard questions and look like a fool.

Posted by D W
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 26, 2011 at 10:52 am

Splitting the city representation within the county will only lead to worsening gerrymandering, the kind that has plagued both the state and especially the country. Whatever happened to representation that is based on timeliness and interaction? Clearly, it's been long gone, and that is a shame.

Posted by The Oracle
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 26, 2011 at 11:12 am

The Tri-Valley is going to continue to get dumped on by the rest of the Alameda and Contra Costa counties until the Tri-Valley figures a way to secede. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult for that to happen because the western part of both counties have the votes to prevent that from occurring; and the State government is totally dominated by left wing loons which would also prevent it. The loons see the Tri-Valley as a bank they can drain dry to support all their welfare programs. Haggerty seems to have a hate relationship with Pleasanton as he seems to shaft the city whenever he gets a chance. Now he plans on doing it again by spitting Pleasanton in two for Supervisorial representation. As bad as Haggerty has shafted Pleasanton, Nate Miley would be worse. All he cares about is feeding the Oakland welfare state.

By the way, is Haggerty a nomad? He kids went to school in Sunol, he used to live in Livermore, now he apparently lives in Dublin. Any chance of him moving to Siberia?

Posted by Jason
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 26, 2011 at 12:56 pm

Mr. Bing you should be ashamed of yourself for publishing an article with so many factual mistakes. I was at the luncheon and regardless if you like Haggerty or not you should at least get your facts straight. For instance, in the 4th paragraph you say the County has two million in reserves. Haggerty said 14 years ago the County had 2 million in reserves and made a comment that wouldn't fund the operations of the County for a 1/2 day. He then went on to say there was now a $140 plus million in reserves because him and Wilma Chan authored an ordinance that mandates a certain percentage of the general fund goes into savings.

That is just one of your factual errors Mr. Bing. These type of factual errors happens far to often in the Weekly.

Posted by Jason
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 26, 2011 at 3:33 pm

Hairy,

I'm not asking you to believe me.....just simply saying the reporting wasn't accurate based on what I heard at the same event. You have every right to get off your booty and fact check what politicians say and I say more power to ya for doing so.

Posted by Hairy
a resident of Foothill Farms
on May 26, 2011 at 3:39 pm

I must have got you mixed up with Boner becuase you sound alike but I didn't put words in your mouth Arnold honest. No quotatient marks right? So Jason was wrong?

In answer to your questions, FIRST I'm a bugdet stabalizer from way back. It's a crying shame how the entitlements take advantage of us with unsustainable demands upon our already crushing debt ratio and dependance on the Chinese invaders in Pleasanton and everywhere else.. Stabalize, stabalize, and then stabalize some more, thats what I always say. And then cut till it hurts baby, because we all belong to the same lifeboat.

Your second question. Heck no I don't! The state fails at everything. Why should it not fail to make the necessary adjustments when a huge mountain of angry inky red water is boiling down on us?

Your third question. Why would I approve the tax extensions? Their just a liberal Marxist plot to keep keeping money from the rich to give to all the so-called entitlees who you know as well as me are just a bunch of nonworking or overpaid unsustainables who are responsible for our mountains of debt burden. I inherited millions from my Daddy. Why would I want to give that away to people who don't even look like me or you?

Your foruth question. Why would I think Jerry Brown is responsible or accountable for anything? I voted for Meg Witman didn't you? The prison guards are almost as bad as the teachers. They all union thugs you know that Arnold. I have a prison guard living on me side of me and I'm afraid of him. But I have a teacher living down the street and when I see her I don't go out of doors because I had a NO sign on my door and I think she has me being watched. Or followed.

I have a question for you Arnold. Why are you so angry? Is it the tsunamis? Well they've got us all on edge brother and boy do they. But let's keep the faith and chillax a bit were on the same side of the boat.

Posted by Jerry
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 26, 2011 at 3:51 pm

The sad thing is I read this article early this morning and re-read again a few minutes ago and it has been changed. There was a portion of the article that said Haggerty gave the chamber the questions. Now it says the Haggerty reviewed the questions in advance, but the chamber prepares them. Which is it?

Posted by Arnold
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 26, 2011 at 4:04 pm

I'm not angry. I do continue to post, using the same name/my name, and I say what I mean. You should try it. I wonder why you find it difficult to be you; express your true feelings and say what you actually mean. We don't have to agree on anything but what's wrong with being honest? I feel sorry for you. While you're obviously intelligent there must be something holding you back from being you. Is it a maturity thing, or are you just having trouble with reality in general? Be confident in yourself!

Posted by Journalism Major
a resident of Dublin
on May 26, 2011 at 4:04 pm

Journalism is a more difficult craft than you might think. The largest newspapers pay good money to fact checkers and they _still_ get parts of the story wrong. Frequently.

It is an unrealistic expectation that local journalism is going to function at the same level at the NYTimes or even SFChronicle for that matter. Local journalism is what it is. It provides a valuable service/product to the community by providing coverage of issues or events otherwise not covered by the majors, and they provide an _enormous_ service by providing an outlet for community members to voice their opinions. In that respect, local journalism, and the PW specifically, are invaluable.

I find it more than a little bit hypocritical that so many meatheaded, ignorant, racist, cheap, Republican screamers use these posts to their "hearts'" content and then piss and moan about a hastily written story by a journalist who was given no fact checker and who perhaps "is his own editor" at the same time.

Thank you PW for helping us learn more about the darker parts of our community.

Posted by Jeb Bing
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on May 26, 2011 at 4:37 pm

With regard to the comments above by "Jerry" and "Jason," they're right. I learned today that my information obtained at the luncheon with regard to the questions was wrong. The chamber prepared the questions and then Mr. Haggerty reviewed them before they were asked. I corrected the story at 10:46 a.m. with that information and updated the article.

Also, the $2 million stated for the county's budget reserves should have stated "almost $150 million." Haggerty said that the reserves were less than $2 million when he was elected to the board. Since then, an ordinance he and Wilma Chan brought forward provide for annual contributions to the reserve fund at the time the county adopts its budget each year.

These changes have been made in the story that's now online and the story has been updated accordingly. Jeb Bing